The Power of Partnerships: Why Strong Alliances are Vital in the Shooting Industry

Jonathan is now the importer and distributor for Armas Kemen in the United Kingdom, but he also helps the company with marketing and promotional materials, as well as assisting with advertising and social media.

“My partnership with Armas Kemen in the UK is more than just distribution. It’s not simply transactional, it’s about helping them with media, marketing, advertising, photos and films, and social media, which has grown by around 2,000% in the last six months. I feel that these aspects are the best way of helping get the brand in front of the right people.”

A decade may be a slightly extreme example, but it’s certainly not unusual for a deep and meaningful partnership to take a few years to get off the ground. John Bright is CEO of Highland Outdoors, a British company that distributes many different brands around the country and also Europe including names such as Boston Security, Buffalo River, Smith’s Products, and SOG Knives.

“Partnerships are all different and you have to approach each one differently,” John explains. “It’s about a tailor-made approach with different companies. Some will have a very formulated marketing system and others will just have a product. It also takes time to build up the partnerships. Sometimes you can be talking with someone for six years or more before you finally get a working relationship. You can’t just go in and start criticising competitors or boasting about what you’re going to do. It takes time to build up the relationship.”

Talk to one another

So, what makes a partnership work? How do you forge a strong working relationship between two companies that can not only help each other towards new successes but also guide and support each other through challenges and hard times? The answer, while it may sound incredibly simple, is to communicate.

“Clear and trustful communication is the key to any strong partnership,” says Christopher Mijal, Managing Director of German wholesaler Waimex, a company that works with brands such as Smith & Wesson, Nikko Stirling, and FABARM. “If you have topics or issues to discuss, you need an open ear and to speak openly about it – direct and clear communication is the best way. You also need a straightforward line of communication with the right people. You don’t want to give some information to person A, then they tell it to person B, then it finally gets to person C and the message is only 30 per cent of what it was initially. What I say to our team is to always communicate clearly. Maybe sometimes it’s hard to do at the start, but at the end of the day, it’s the best way. Trustful business relationships are built on this.”

Good and regular communication means that there are no surprises for either party in a partnership and that you both stay on the same page when it comes to achieving your goals. It also helps to build that core value that all businesses treasure, which is trust.

“The secret to a good partnership is trust,” says Jonathan McGee. “I achieve that with Kemen through good coordination. I tell them everything I’m going to do so they know what’s coming, which is particularly important for the media and marketing side of things. I create a strategy and a plan, and it’s vital that they are on board with that. Trust and understanding are built in that way. We all know what’s happening at least six months in advance and we know where our sales are coming from, which channels and efforts are working, and which are not.”

This song is also sung from the same hymn sheet by John Bright and Highland Outdoors: “The two key things behind a successful partnership are honesty and hard work. You have to be open and honest about how you can work together and what you can do together. And then you both have to work hard and do the things you say you’re going to do.”

Every day is a school day

Every business has its own way of doing things, and those methods naturally evolve over time. While two different companies in a partnership may have some things in common, there will also be plenty that they do differently. But in a strong, long-standing, and healthy working partnership, that’s actually a good thing. You can learn things from each other. Whether it’s simple operational ideas or wider philosophies about the market, good partners are always learning from each other.

Jonathan McGee says: “I do learn from the guys in Spain, I have learnt a lot about how the Armas Kemen guns are made and their processes, which gives me a deeper understanding when promoting them. I believe the team in Spain have also learnt from me – things such as possible routes for future advertising and how to get the guns in front of the right clients.”

Every company worth its salt is always on the lookout for new things they can learn from their partners. John Bright calls these kinds of learnings ‘invaluable’ for his business Highland Outdoors.

“You definitely learn things from each other when working together with partners, sharing ideas and also information from different parts of the world,” he says. “Shows like IWA OutdoorClassics are a great way to start learning from potential new partners too. The chance meetings are still vital. I met with an American contact this year that was complete chance and could end up being good for both of our businesses. Those kinds of things are what make trade shows high value for us.”

Built to last

What is most impressive about partnerships forged in the shooting and hunting industries is how they have stood the test of time. Even through difficulties like threats from legislation, global recessions, pandemics, and more, strong partnerships have allowed their participants to survive and thrive in times of adversity. Giving each other a hand and working towards a mutually beneficial goal is one of the principles that Waimex is built on – what’s good for one side of a partnership is usually good for the other.

Christopher Mijal explains: “Waimex has a very long and successful partnership with Smith & Wesson, which is about 16 years, back to the start of our company. When you get to that long working with each other, a partnership works well from a networking point of view. We keep our ear to the ground for them and they do the same for us. They often keep an eye out for new business partners and potential contacts and sometimes bring them to us. When you have worked with one good company that makes good products for so long, it means you are more likely to get more coming along who want to work with you.”

And so, we reveal another key benefit of being able to nurture a strong partnership: it can bring new ones to you more easily. This was on display at IWA OutdoorClassics in 2025 where Waimex revealed a new partnership with ammunition company Nosler.

“We are very happy to be working with Nosler,” concludes Christopher. “It’s very important for us when we begin a partnership that we begin with an exclusive business relationship. That is good for us because it avoids any price fighting with other wholesalers. For Waimex, we are always looking for high-quality products, and also for brands that offer good pricing and value for the end consumer as well. We also want to make sure that it works out well for the dealers and that they have good customer service. And we have all of that and much more with Nosler. We are excited for the future as we walk towards it together.”